Welcome To Sunnydale
by Growl Snarl
Summary: Hermione's parents have been murdered, now, she has no choice but to go and live with her relitives... in Sunnydale, California. And we all know that can't be good
1. Welcome to Sunnydale

A/N: Ok, so this is my first _big _story. um, im gonna give a little background info or whatever at the bottom, you know, just incase its not really understandable. But, yea. oh, and i would really, really, really, really appreciate any reviews, hell, even flames would make me happy... just something to go on.

Welcome To Sunnydale

Hermione looked around for inspiration. She had absolutely nothing to do and was bored out of her skull. She could watch the flight's movie? _And pay money for headphones that I would have to return? I think not. _… Read a book? _I already finished one that I brought on with me, and the other one I just read a couple of days ago. _… Start writing a story idea or something? _No inspiration what so ever. _…Draw? _I didn't bring paper or anything to draw with. I can't_ _draw anyways, so it doesn't really matter. _… Talk to someone and possibly make a new friend?_ Has potential, but is there anyone to talk to? On my left, at the window seat, is some old guy, who looks unconscious. On my right, well, he looks ok, kinda has the same look as Remus actually, like he matured too fast when he was younger. I guess I could try him._

"Hello. You look like you are just about as bored as I am."

"Erm… well, yes, I suppose so, it's just that this is a very long flight." He stated with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, I know, I feel the same. Sorry, I'm really usually not this outgoing, I just needed something to do, thinking to much tends to lead to bad thoughts about doom." _Whenever my thoughts start to stray, I tend to think about all my friends dying. How am I even going to know if they're okay? I'm to have no contact with the Wizarding world Dumbledore said. When will I know who won? Hermione! Pay attention!_

"Oh,"

"Hermione Granger."

"Rupert Giles."

"So, Mr. Giles—

"Rupert, please"

"Okay, Rupert, are you getting off at Sunnydale, or continuing through to Los Angeles?"

"Sunnydale, I'm actually moving there, all my stuff has been sent, I received a job as the librarian at the local high school."

"Really? That's so bizarre. I'm also moving there, and I'll be attending Sunnydale High School. I'm a library person too, so I'll probably visit you many times."

"I shall look forward to it." He said with a smile.

_You know, he really doesn't look that old. Kinda handsome even. Bad Thoughts! Bad, Bad, Bad! Get them out!_

"So why Sunnydale? Is it just because of the job?"

"Erm… the job covers most of it. But, the fact that there's someone else

out there that I-er, have heard a lot about, whom I wanted to meet is also thrown in there. What about you?"

"Well, uh, about maybe three weeks ago, there was a major fire, that burned my house and… killed my parents. So since my only relatives are in Sunnydale, that's where I'm going." _Sodding bastard Voldemort murdered my parents, and he doesn't even get blamed for it, cuz when he set the house on fire it destroyed the evidence. And he didn't 'dark mark' it. The man's not strong enough yet to prove to the Wizarding world that he's back. Fudge just ignores the 'mysterious' deaths of random muggleborn students. Damn it Hermione, this is not the time to cry. _

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Its okay, I think I'm getting better. Slowly, but it doesn't hurt as much. It helped that I cried for two days straight after hearing the news, it took around 5 days for my friends to coax me outta my funk, and I cannot believe that I just told you all that."

"Don't worry, I promise that I won't spread rumors at the school." _My god, I like his smile._

"Thank you. Anyways, a librarian huh?"

"Yes, and I assure you just because I'm a librarian doesn't mean that I'm all stuffy and books and knowledge."

"Oh, don't worry, I got to know the librarian at my old school, and she was a really interesting person."

"Oh, well, I guess I'm just used to people saying, 'oh, look, librarian, he's all stuffy and tea, and Mr. Goody-Good.'"

"Well, Rupert, what type of books do you enjoy the most?"

"I enjoy… I suppose it would be history and myths. What about you?"

"Well, for some reason, I'm drawn to the supernatural" _and not just in literature, _"I love the thought that something bigger is just around the corner, and the thing is, I can see it." _You look like you have _no _idea what I'm talking about. _"I mean, there are certain times, that I feel I can picture whats happening in some story in my life, like whenever there is a store robbed or something where the people in it died of fatal neck wounds, I always feel like I could go to the coroner and if I asked to see the body, it'd have to puncture holes, and it would be drained of blood. Or like the whole Holocaust, the gas chambers, I could see the people being somehow magically killed, not just gas, cuz that'd be really expensive. And I love the thought that there could be some ordinary person, who somehow, in some way, has the power to defeat something that should make them wet their pants. I love the thought that some hero can rise from somewhere low. I love stories where the good guy, the hero, was, at first anyways, and underdog. Whether it was some orphan, or some person who had abusive conditions, and that they are still good. That they can rise from those horrid beginnings to become the hero at the end. It just gets me for some reason." _Oh god, Harry, wherever you are right now, I love you. I know that you can beat Voldemort. I know it. I love you so much, and I have faith in you; I'll always be here for you, even if I'm halfway across the world._

"Wow."

"Sorry, sometimes, I just rant and rant. I tend to get kind of passionate. I've been told it gets very annoying, so if I ever happen to do that again around you, you can just interrupt and I'll stop."

"No, that's not what I meant, I meant that that was a very passionately given speech. But in a good way. I've never heard someone speak so openly, and powerfully about the type of books that they liked."

"Well Rupert, I am everything but ordinary." Observing him laughing, Hermione thought to herself: _If only you knew._

**Rupert's P.O.V.**

**The Airport:**

"Well, it was nice meeting you Hermione." _She is quite the interesting young lady. I never knew that I could actually have an intelligent conversation with someone so young. _

"You too, Rupert. And I'll look for you sometime on Monday. I'll probably need textbooks and all that other rubbish." Hermione replied smiling.

"Yes, I'll hold you to that."

"So you are starting tomorrow right?"

"Yes, I am, they said that they needed a librarian as soon as possible when the old one disappeared." _Disappeared, Right._

"Well, I have to go, I found my name." She said pointing to the sign that read "Hermione Granger"

"See you then."

"Right" She replied somewhat awkwardly before she turned around and headed toward the mother and daughter who were, most likely, her aunt and cousin.

I just stood there looking at her with a little smile on my lips, thinking of the long talk we had on the plane. _I hope she's careful around this town. Vampires, Demons, I don't want her to die like that. I want her to be safe. _

A/N 2: Ok, so basically, Hermione's parents were murdered by Voldemort, and the Death Eaters burned the house after killing them, and there was no DarkMark flying above, cuz voldemort's smart, and he knows that his forces arent strong enough to be open yet. Since her parents were killed, she was in total danger,and had to go to America to live with her only living relatives. Dumbledore knew that there were D.E.s-in-training in Hogwarts, so he sent her there. Harry was in no danger because they all knew that he could take care of himself, hence the not attempting to murder him. Ron's family would not let him not finish school, so he was at Hogwarts too. Anyways, if you're still confused or whatever...

A/N 3: Review!


	2. Meeting The Family

_A/N: Hey guys! I am soo sorry about the long wait, I realize its been… Holy cow… over a year since I uploaded the first chapter, and I could make a bunch of excuses, but that'd sound kinda lame. All I can say is that I've been busy as crap (First year of High School is over w00t!) and I kinda lost interest in this story. (Plus I had this whole issue with going to the doctor once a month because I've been getting sick way too often to be right.) But anyways, if you're still interested, here's the next installment, where the mysterious identity is revealed! And yes, everyone is slightly outta character, but its fanfiction, and you're gonna deal with it._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Hermione's PoV**

**The Airport:**

As I gathered the courage to go over to my relatives, I realized that something was different, majorly different. See, over the years I realized that magic has a presence, and that if you're in a completely magical place like Hogwarts or Diagon Alley, or even the Burrow, you can _sense_ the magic in the air. Its like a slight tingle that you feel, all around you. I could feel it here, powerful. It was everywhere, and it was old. I didn't quite know what to make of this new surprise, but I figured that I could research 'Sunnydale' later… if I can find a way to get my hands on some magical books.

I took a deep breath, deciding to ignore it for now. I slowly made my way toward the sign that boldly declared 'Hermione Granger,' and as I got closer I looked over my new family.

The first thing I noticed was that both women looked incredibly stylish. First there was a woman, in her late thirties, early forties if I had to guess, who had wavy blond hair down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes. She had on a flowy black skirt that fell to mid shin, and a red tank top with a scoop neck. Then, her daughter was about my age, also with blond hair, but hers was a little lighter. She was wearing a mini-skirt with an off the shoulder sweater.

Once I was within a few feet of them, I smiled shyly, and held out my hand. "Hello, I'm Hermione, and you must be-"

"Deborah, and this is my daughter, Harmony." …Deborah filled in, squeezing my hand lightly. As soon as she let go, I found myself being tackled by Harmony. She hugged me excitedly, almost squealing in my ear, before stepping back to talk… a lot.

"Hi Hermione! I'm soo excited that you're finally here! Aren't you excited? I can already tell we're gonna be super close, like sisters! I cannot explain how good it's going to be to have someone my age in the house! We can go shopping and hang out and everything together! Maybe we could even share clothes, cuz, I gotta tell ya, that top is fab! Where did you get it? I wonder if I'll be able to find it here anywhere. If not, I guess we can just ask Daddy to send for it. Oh! Aren't you just soo excited?" She asked, blinking at me.

I blinked right back, barely understanding what she said, let alone figuring out how to respond. Luckily, Deborah apparently was used to her daughter and saved me.

"Harmony, sweetie, calm down a little bit, okay? I'm sure Hermione is very tired from her flight, and would like to get out of here, so why don't we go grab her luggage, and then you guys can talk in the car. Alright?"

"Great idea, Mom! Come on Hermione, let's go!" She said, before grabbing my arm, and pulling me along with her.

A minute later, we were at baggage claim, and as soon as I saw it, I nabbed my Hogwarts trunk. For some reason, I saw Deborah looking at it, slightly shocked.

"Is that all that you brought?"

"Um, yes. It was all that I had at school with me, and everything else got burnt in the fire."

"Oh, of course." She said as we started walking toward the exit. "That was incredibly stupid of me. I should have known."

"Don't worry about it."

"So," Harmony interrupted. "What's with the 'H' Logo? Is that like an English company?"

I didn't really feel like going into _why _I had a trunk with my school logo on it, just I just nodded. Deborah then looked at the crest, too. "What does this say?" She asked, pointing toward the school motto.

"Um, it's Latin, 'Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus' its kind of like a motto. It means 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon.'"

"That's an …odd motto." Deborah remarked.

Harmony, apparently having lost interest in the logo, asked her mom, "Does this mean shopping? Cuz she's gonna need more clothes that just one trunk full."

"Of course." She turned to me. "Harmony's right. Is tomorrow alright? Hopefully by then you'll be somewhat settled in."

"Um, sure, I could use some more stuff, I guess." I've never been much of a shopper, and this family looked like it shopped a lot. But, honestly I did need some more clothes. Before I left Hogwarts, I transfigured my robes into Muggle clothes, but I still didn't have much.

By then, we had reached Deborah's car. It was a sleek little thing, silver, with tinted windows. I got my trunk into the car's boot, and sat in the backseat, leaving Harmony next to her mother. Almost immediately I fell asleep. Hey, my clock was off okay? I had to get up way early, and it was a long flight, so even though it was morning here, it was late in England.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

**Hermione's PoV**

**The House:**

I slowly woke up, feeling someone shaking me. Once I opened my eyes, I figured out that the car had stopped, so we must be there. I saw Deborah's smiling face, and I slowly undid my seat belt, and got out of the car.

I looked up at the house that would be my 'home' for the next indefinite amount of time. I gasped softly seeing the beautiful house that was practically a mansion. It was all a really light blue color with white trims, doors, and windows, and it was enormous. My family was pretty well off being dentists, but this… It looked amazing, and I couldn't wait to get inside.

Once I got my trunk out of the boot, Harmony grabbed my arm, again, and started dragging me up the front stairs. She was babbling in my ear, but I barley heard a word, as I was taking in the sights around me. In the front, there was a gorgeous lawn, with flowers along the front of the house. Then, we entered the house (mansion!) into a beautiful entry hall with high ceilings and a chandilier at the top. There was also a grand staircase, which Harmony dragged me up.

She led me to my room so fast that I could barley even register the beautiful artwork that decorated the halls. She opened the door to my room, and I couldn't help but gasp. It was amazing; the whole thing was mostly greens and purples, which I loved together. It had light green walls, and an enormous comforter that was green with a bright purple flower in the middle of it, and the pillows were a matching purple. My curtains (over a big bay window with a window seat) were a lighter purple. There was also furniture done in a dark wood. It all just looked so amazing.

I turned to Harmony, who was looking at me with a knowing smile on her face. "Nice, huh?"

I smiled back. "It's amazing, I can't believe… well, I wasn't expecting anything this beautiful."

"Don't be silly, you're family. Anyways, I picked it out myself. I hope its all okay, if you wanna change anything, just ask, okay?"

"That's highly unlikely, its so gorgeous already, I don't want to change it."

"Thanks. Anyways, as I said earlier, when you were admiring the room, I'm right across the hall, if you need anything, just ask me. My parents are down on the bottom level. I'll show you where they are tomorrow, but I figured you might wanna catch up on some more sleep for right now."

"Thank you, that would be amazing."

"No prob. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, exiting and closing the door after her.

I knew I should unpack first, and I really thought about it, I did! But, I was just so tired, and it'd been a long day. I yawned and sank into my bed, which was way more comfortable than any bed should have a right to be.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_A/N 2: So, it's finally revealed! The mysterious relative. Hope its an okay match. I thought long and hard about this, and I think this will be fun to play with._

_As always, suggestions are welcome!_

_Also, do you guys want me to include the Buffy scenes that Hermione is not involved in, or just do everything from her point of view? _

_And, I haven't decided on whether someone is going to come from Hogwarts to teach her, or if she's gonna do something else magical that is slightly different. I need some opinions! (Just so you know though, I do have a plan for someone coming in from Hogwarts, not the someone you'd expect, and it's a while away.) _

_I am planning on updating this soon! Let's see if I can actually do it! Any encouragement helps… (Should next chapter be the shopping trip? Or should I go straight to Sunnydale High? Cuz I've got some fun ideas for shopping with Harmony)._

_Review, and tell me your thoughts, or just say 'hey', anything!_

_Love you all! _

_GrowlSnarl_


	3. Shopping With Harmony

_A/N: Hey guys, I figured since I waited so long between the first two chapters, I was really gonna focus on getting chapters out and all… Hope you enjoy! I decided to just go with the shopping trip, figured it'd be fun ;-)_

_Oh, and if anyone knows Harmony's last name, that'd be great. I don't know if it was ever mentioned, and I can't remember!_

Chapter Three:

Shopping With Harmony

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Hermione! Wake up! We're going _shopping_ today!" I heard Harmony yelling from behind my door.

"Don't worry, I'm up!" I called back, expecting her to go away, but instead, she came bursting in my door.

"Great, we need to get you ready for your first day in Sunnydale then!" She clapped excitedly, before bouncing onto my bed. "Lets see, we'll have to decide on make-up, hair, outfit, shoes, accessories, purse, ect."

"Um, can't I just wear what I always wear?" I asked her, kinda confused about the whole situation. It was still early, and I had just woke up, and no matter what anyone says, I'm _not _a morning person.

People back at Hogwarts: They used to think that. I was always up early, but that was just because I was trying to make an effort, be a good student, and suddenly, bam! I was a social leper. Thinking about Hogwarts led to thoughts on Harry and Ron, so I pushed that all from my mind, and focused on my cousin.

"…I'm gonna raid your closet, and decide on something perfect for your first day out and around Sunnydale. If you don't have anything, you'll just borrow some of my clothes, cool?"

"Um… I guess." I really _did_ want to make a good impression in this town. I just wasn't positive if I would be forced to give myself up in exchange. I decided that I would just feel it out.

"Great! Lets get going!" She shouted with glee, before making a run for my closet. She opened it up and immediately started saying 'No' 'Maybe' and 'Hmm…' about each article. "Okay, this pile is _possibilities_," she explained pointing to a small pile of clothes on her right. "And this pile is Absolutely Not's okay?" She pointed to the heaping pile on her left.

"Er, why aren't those allowed?" I asked, still very confused.

"Hermione, sweetie, this isn't England or whatever. This is California! Sunnydale, to be exact, and you're clothes just don't really work here." She explained, with a 'sympathetic' look on her face.

"Oh, of course." I responded as if I actually knew what she was talking about.

"Great! Now show me what you got! Start trying this stuff on!" She handed me the first outfit she'd designed out of the 'possible' pile.

I sighed and headed into the bathroom to change for the first of what would be many times that morning.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We arrived at the mall by 11:00am. Apparently we needed the whole day to do enough shopping. I arrived in my knee-length jean skirt (because I refused to wear anything shorter) and a cute green top. I was also forced to wear a pair of Harmony's boots, which were why I was stumbling around some. I looked like a klutz!

But anyways, Harmony started dragging me around the store and we ended up running into some of her friends. I can't remember all the names that were told to me, but I do remember that a Cordelia was apparently the most popular person there. Once we ran into them, Harmony was practically kneeling in front of her.

"Cordelia! Hey!" Harmony shouted dragging me over to a tall brunette. "Hey! I'm soo glad I ran into you! This is my cousin, Hermione, remember? The one I told you was coming."

"Right, of course. Hi, Hermione. I'm Cordelia Chase, its so nice to finally meet you." I could tell as she said this she was looking me over, but it seemed like she decided I was okay.

"Er, Hello."

"Oh, I just love that accent! It's so adorable. Come, come, you guys are shopping right? Some new clothes for a new town?" She smiled brilliantly before looking around. "Oh, I need a smoothie, come on guys!"

So, we started walking into the smoothie shop that we were standing in front of.

"Duh Cordy! You should have seen some of the stuff she came over with, it was… pretty bad." My clothes are just fine! Just because I don't dress like a slut! …What type of a person just says that? Especially when I'm right here!

"You know, I would _love_ to see it, I've always been curious about styles in other countries."

"Oh." I said before I was interrupted.

"Then you have got to come over! We'll have like a fashion show or something, some of it is soo cute!" I turned to her, confused. Didn't she just say…?

"Sounds great! We're going to the Bronze tonight, so how 'bout tomorrow? Is that cool My?" She asked.

It took me a while to realize that _I _was this 'My' person. "Um… Tomorrows… fine I guess. 'My'?"

She walked up to the counter "Oh, its just 'Hermione' is so long, and it's kinda hard to say, so I figured why not My? Yeah, I want a small fruit fusion." All of her followers ordered the same exact thing right after her.

"Oh, It's perfect Cordy! It's so fab! Hey, should we introduce My to the Bronze tonight?" Harmony asked looking excited.

She grabbed her smoothie and the others did the same. "Totally! We just have to find the perfect outfit now!" Cordelia said grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door. Since I was so unsteady in those boots though, as soon as we were out the door and she let go of my hand, I completely fell over, falling on top of a cute, slightly geeky, guy.

"Sorry." I breathed softly.

"Uh, no worries, its cool." He said back with a goofy smile on his face.

"Are you okay?" A girl, who must have been there with him, asked bending down to check on him.

"Oh my god!" Harmony exclaimed pulling me off him. "Hey, losers, go away!"

"Yeah, Xander, go bug someone else." Cordelia said in disgust. I just looked at them confused. What did the couple do to make them so mean? They both seemed really nice.

I shrugged it off, thinking it was probably just some teenage drama that I didn't want to get caught up in right now.

So, I spent the next three hours being thrown into dressing room after dressing room and being told to try on stuff. I only found a few things that I actually liked, but according to the masses of squealing girls, a fair amount of the stuff looked good on me.

Eventually I was convinced to buy about a good 500-600 dollars worth of clothes. Something that I've never actually done before, but all the people around me acted like it was a normal thing.

Then, we went to a shoe store, where I bought 5 pairs of shoes and spent another 200-300 dollars. I felt so guilty about spending all of Harmony's money, but she just shrugged it off.

"Don't worry, Mom put like 5 thousand on this card. You barely spent anything!"

I was amazed that someone could ever spend _that much _on just clothes and shoes. It was insane!

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Once we got home, I lugged all the bags upstairs to my amazing bedroom. I laid down on my bed, completely exhausted and was about to take a nap when Harmony came bursting in.

"What are you doing sleeping? We have to get you ready to go to the Bronze tonight! Get up!"

I stared at her, mystified, "We aren't going for another 4 hours!"

"That's _barely_ enough time, now hurry up!"

I groaned, but decided to give in. If I fought her, there was no telling when it would end.

"Okay, so go grab the dress, and I'll get the makeup and everything."

So I went to go change into my new dress. It was picked out by Cordelia, and unanimously declared perfect for tonight. It was black with ruffles thingies on the sleeves and on the bottom. It also had sparkle butterflies randomly around the dress.

I came back out and Harmony practically attacked me with the makeup that she had bought for me while we were out. By the time she was done, I actually looked pretty good. She also did my hair for me, making the curls soft and pretty, and then she used some gel type thing that took care of all of my fly-aways… I didn't even know that that was possible!

By the time she decided she was done, it was about a half hour till we had to leave, and she gasped before rushing into her room. I sat on her bed and watched her. It was amazing to see the entire process; it was like an artist working. She somehow went from looking normal to glam in the blink of a perfectly mascara-ed eye.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We arrived at the Bronze at the same time as Cordelia and Co. So, we all just walked in together. I was told that the Bronze was the place to be in Sunnydale. It was a club that let anyone in, but everyone liked it.

When we got inside, we got a table on the second level platform, and started talking. I was filled in on who was who, and who was cute, and who was not to be talked to. I couldn't keep it all straight, so at some point I started just nodding randomly. Eventually, we all stood up to dance, and after a few songs, I decided to go and get something from the counter. I told Harmony, and she just waved me off.

As I walked up to the counter, I noticed the girl and guy from before, the guy I bumped into at the mall, and his friend. This time, they had another guy with them. I decided now was as good a time as any to start making friends, so I walked up to them.

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me…" I started.

"Sure, cute girl who fell on top of me in the mall." The guy said.

"Erm, yeah, I just wanted to apologize again, for that, I was wearing my cousins shoes, and I was kinda unstable."

"Yeah, it's cool. Not everyday a beautiful girl falls on top of me, I really didn't mind."

I laughed uncertainly. "So, um… I'm Hermione, I'm new here."

"I figured. I'm Xander and these are my friends… um… my friends…"

"Jesse and Willow." The other guy filled in.

"Hi." I said to both of them.

"Hey." Willow said.

"So, you're new, huh? Any secrets you want us to know so we can spread it across school?" Jesse asked with surprising bluntness.

"Um, I'm good thanks… I'll just have my secrets spread around in my own time."

"Jesse, stop scaring her." Willow said. "Hi, if you need any help with catching up, just ask me, I can help you."

"Um, thanks. Anyways, I should get going, I'll see you guys at school yeah?"

"Sure!" Xander interjected. "I'll help you find your way around, okay?"

"That'd be great. Bye."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The rest of the night passed rather uneventfully. I just hung out with Harmony and then we went home and I fell right asleep.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Hey everyone!_

_Tell me if this is any good, give me some suggestions/comments/whatever. Just say something! Thanks for reading and a shout out to all my reviewers!_

_GrowlSnarl_


	4. First Day At A New School

_So, okay, I suck at updating. I'm soo sorry! Crap happened and then it happened again, and I've got this evil illness where I don't ever feel like doing anything, and while for some people that means writing, for me it means sleeping. But anyways, I'm determined to keep up this story, and I will __make it last at least through season one. IT WILL!_

_Hope you enjoy!_

Chapter Four:

First Day at a New School

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hermione sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She could not believe what she was about to do…

"Harmony!" I called. As my cousin came bursting in the door, I explained. "I need help." I had been working on her hair for at least half an hour and it hadn't changed at all.

"Yeah," Harmony agreed. "I can see that. Okay, we have half an hour before we have to leave. I better get started."

First she quickly scanned my closet before pulling out a pair of jeans and a cream colored top. Then she threw me into the bathroom.

"I think straightening will be fastest, there's no time to get all these curls in order." She quickly ran a flat iron through my hair; I think that she's the only person on the face of the earth who could straighten my bushy mass of hair in fifteen minutes.

Then she did a quick make-up sweep before deciding that just some naturals "would have to do." At that point we had five minutes to get downstairs and into the car so I ran back into my room and threw on the clothes that she had picked out. As she handed me a pair of boots I shook my head and went instead for the white sneakers. Hey, I might want to be fashionable, but I also want to be steady on my feet.

"You cannot be serious!" she practically screamed at me.

"We're too late for me to go tumbling around in those things." I tried to convince her.

"Too late?! You are never too late to be fashionable!"

"Harmony, lets just go, please? I'm already nervous enough." I pleaded as I pulled her down the stairs.

"Oh! Of course, its your first day! Well, alright. I guess you're allowed the mistake once. You could always say that's what they do in England… Eww. Do they really wear sneakers with everything in England?"

I didn't tell her, that recently all I had worn was robes… Although, I had to admit, I was kinda curious about what her reaction would be. Instead, I merely grabbed my bag where it was waiting by the door. She did likewise, and we left.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As I sat in my first class, I realized that high school was exactly what everyone said it was. A complete waste of time. My teacher droned in the front of the classroom (worse than Professor Binns, if that's possible), seemingly ignorant of her class. She was, somehow, ruining Shakespeare. I mean… how do you _do _that? As the first bell rung, I was glad to get out of that classroom, something that I had never been happy about before. It seemed this whole high school thing would be filled with new experiences.

I was instructed to visit the principal after my first class so, I slowly waded through the mass of students and made my way to Mr. Flutie's office.

"Do you have an appointment?" the woman at the desk asked me.

"Um… yes. I'm new, and I was told to come here after my first class…" I explained.

"Just a moment please." She picked up her phone and hit a couple of buttons. "Bob? I've got a new girl here… MmHmm. Okay, Sure thing." She hung up and made her way to the coffee machine that sat next to a water cooler in the main office. She filled up a cup and handed it to me. "He'll see you now, and since you're going there anyways, give that to him for me will ya? Thanks."

I stood there, bewildered for a second before nodding to her. "Sure."

I stepped through the door and in front of me stood the principal.

"Good morning." He greeted, before seeing the coffee in my hands. "Oh! Is that mine?" He asked grabbing the cup. He inhaled deeply, his nose hovering over the steaming liquid. "Ah… Caffeine."

"Uh… Yeah." I said, not quite sure how to deal with his coffee affliction.

He took a deep sip and sighed happily. "Sit! Sit!" he gestured. As I sat, he started talking again. "So, Buffy Summers?"

I looked back at him, completely lost. "Huh?"

"Oh, the other one… Herm—Hermy—Hermy-own"

"It's Hermione."

"Exactly!" He smelled his coffee again… it was starting to get quite funny in a weird/creepy way. "So, you're new. How's it going so far?"

"Alright."

"Great. Your records are phenomenal! I'm sure you'll be fine here... But just in case you're worried about anything, just know that here, you get a new start." He leaned over and looked at me intently. "Nothing about the past matters now. It's all just a blank slate."

I leaned back farther into my chair, kinda freaked at how close he was. "Okay." I squeaked.

"Great!" He leaned back. "That's Great! Okay, you're free to go. Come to me if you need anything, okay?"

"Um, yeah." I ran out of the room.

The secretary who had been there earlier saw my abrupt appearance and burst out laughing. "So, was he kinda weird when you went in there?"

I just looked at her, so confused by the principal that nothing was registering.

"He's normally like that. Once he finishes his coffee, he'll be fine again. Personally, I think he's taking some kind of medicine with his coffee, cuz if you happen to catch him before he drinks it… well, he's kinda wacky."

"Uh Huh."

"You can go now." She repeated the principal's words, reminding me that I had a class in a couple of minutes.

"Right, Bye!"

Behind me I could hear her muttering about how the other new girl was luckier, she would come in after the man's coffee fix.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

By lunch time I was already tired. I only had one class with someone I knew. My cousin was in my science class… It was not a pretty sight.

After the disaster in Science, I decided that I wasn't really hungry anymore, so decided instead to go to the library. I pushed open the double doors and looked into the empty library.

"Hello?" I called. Somewhere up in the stacks, I heard a faint "Just a Minute!"

I inhaled the scent of books and grinned at the familiarity. I love libraries!

"Hermione?"

"Rupert! Or, Mr. Giles, now I guess. Hello, I'm here for books." I held up the list of books that I needed.

"Of course," He said, searching it and then going behind the counter, where he apparently held the textbooks. "So how has your first day been?"

"Fine so far… I had the unfortunate luck of running into the principal pre-caffeine though. Not an experience I'm likely to forget anytime soon."

"Ah yes, I remember the first time I came upon him like that… At first I was worried he was possessed or something." He gave a short laugh.

"I can see why."

"So, here you go… That's all?" He sounded slightly surprised at the lack of books on the list.

"No, I've only been to my first classes, so I still don't know about the others yet. I'll probably come back after the last bell, if that's alright?"

"Of course."

"And maybe I'll browse the shelves for a good read?" I asked, grinning slightly.

"Anytime you wish too, you're welcome to read the library's books. It's rather sad at how few get checked out. In the entire time I've been here, I've seen two people."

"Aw, the poor books—"

"Okay, what's the sitch?" interrupted a short blonde bursting into the library. "You heard about the dead guy right?"

"Sorry?" Mr. Giles asked her. She looked at him, and then at me, and stopped short, apparently realizing that she wasn't alone with him.

"Um… The dead guy… In Lit… He wrote that… um… Book." She stuttered.

"Of course." Mr. Giles agreed, though he too, was looking at me funny. "William Shakespeare. I'll get you a book." He said disappearing off up the stairs and into the maze of books.

"Hello." I said waving slightly as I leaned against the counter. "I'm Hermione."

"Buffy." She introduced.

"Oh, so you're new too? That's great, at least I'm not alone."

"Yeah, great…" She mumbled, though her eyes kept darting up to where the librarian had disappeared.

"Well, I've got my books, it was nice to meet you." I gathered the small pile, and shouted out to Mr. Giles, "Hey, Mr. Giles, I'll be back later for the rest of my books, okay?"

His head popped out from behind a bookcase. "That's fine. Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything else."

"I'm good, just need some lunch now." I said as I pushed the library door open with my hip. As the door swung shut behind me, I couldn't help but think that I was definitely missing something with those two, but decided that I probably didn't want to know anyways.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As I went to lunch, everywhere I heard rumors of a guy who was apparently stuffed in a locker, dead. People were saying all sorts of things, from serial killer to suicide. I decided to go to the person who probably knew the most.

"Cordelia?" I asked.

"Omigod, My! Did you hear? It was totally creepy, but thank God! I mean, this means we don't have gym today anymore. I mean, I'm not saying its good that he died, but Brightside, right?"

"Right. Do you know what happened?"

"Oh, it was in Aura's locker. You met her at the mall, remember? Anyways, it was this guy, and he, like, fell out of her locker, it was totally creepy, I'm sure. She's probably going to need therapy."

"Yeah… Are they saying anything about the cause of death?"

"I don't know, I mean I've heard pretty much everything: gunshot, poison, stab wounds,… I even heard this one girl talking about a vampire bite! Can you believe it?"

"Vampire? Why'd she say that?"

"Duh, cuz she's psycho." She looked at me like I was mentally challenged.

"Of course."

"Although, I heard a couple of people talking about marks on his neck. Hey! Maybe a spider got in and started nibbling… Oh, ew. I just gave my self a major icky mental image." She shuddered.

"Right. Well, I need to get to my next class. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, we're Bronzing again tonight. Harmony'll give you details and bring you. I'll see ya."

If it was vampires, I need to be prepared. I need to know. I needed to get into that gym.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As I reached the gym door, I noticed that the handle was already broken. Weird.

The body was lying in a body bag on the locker room floor. I didn't understand why they had left it there, or why it was alone in the room, but ignored it. As I neared the bag, I realized that it was already unzipped some and that the head was turned to the side, as if someone was checking out the neck… And there was the proof. Two teeth marks in plain sight.

Crap.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_And there is the first installment of the episode one. I hope ya'll don't mind my changing some things (Such as the library scene and Flutie's coffee addiction), but hey, its bound to happen more so if that bugs you, Sorry!_

_Comments? Please? I need ideas and stuff, obviously, as you can tell, I'm not good at keeping up with updating. Sorry._

_GrowlSnarl_


	5. Learning New Things

A/N: So sorry about the lack of updates for this story, I'm just horrible at updating—particularly because of the lack of ideas. This chapter happens to be a filler too, so, like I said, lack of ideas. But hey, the harvest is coming up, and Hermione's been invited to the Bronze… Hmm, what could happen? ;-) Anyways, if anyone has an idea (Or ideas) _please_ suggest them! I'm not exactly a creative soul, here. Oh, and sorry about the shortness.

OOOOOOOOOO

Learning New Things

I sighed as I set my backpack down next to my desk. I looked at the desk for a minute, contemplating starting to work on the day's assignments, before walking away from it, opting instead for comfort and contemplation.

I flopped onto the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. Harmony would be bursting into the room soon, dictating my 'bronzing' outfit (along with hair, makeup, and accessories), but I was just too tired to care. I had forgotten how emotionally exhausting first days were. It was worse at Hogwarts though. At least here, I already knew a couple of people. (Granted, aren't exactly people I could see becoming close friends with, but still—having someone's better than having no one.) I missed Harry and Ron though. I used to be able to talk to them about anything. I miss the library and learning about magical theories and principles and spells. But what I really wanted was a way to research the unusual magical energy that was just _everywhere_ in this town. Best I could figure is that there was probably a major magical ritual done somewhere in town, and it went wrong, creating a surge of magical energy all over. I should really try and figure out where it was centered, but I didn't even know where to start. During the day, I had tried my best to ignore the magical energy in favor of concentrating on school work, especially since I know that I'm going to have to do major catching up.

I knew that now I would need to check the effects on my own magic. After all, it's always better to check such things in a controlled environment rather than an emergency situation.

I stood up and walked over to the door, locking it just in case. Then I crossed the room to find my Hogwarts trunk, now safely stored in my closet. I knelt down, digging through my spell books and potions ingredients, finally finding the box that held my wand. I walked back over to my bed, gently placing the box on top of the comforter. Cautiously, I opened the lid, seeing my wand lying there in the plush velvet. Just looking at it filled me with a sense of security. I instantly felt more comfortable and more stable in my new environment. But while I looked at it, I noticed it had a slight shimmer, something that I only remember happening once. It was last year, in the Ministry of Magic, by the veil. I remember that when I neared it, my wand started sending little shocks through my hand. I looked down and it had an unnatural shimmer. I decided that in the presence of objects of great magical strength—unbalanced magical strength—my wand would react. I think it had something to do with the dragon heartstring core of my wand. Dragons have a natural resistance to magic, and it seemed that that trait carried over to my wand partially. It doesn't react well with certain types of magic, and it reacts very well with other types. That's how I managed to master the flame spell so quickly and why I have such control over it. But the shimmer, that meant that there was some powerful dark magic floating around this town—definitely not a good thing.

I warily reached out and placed my finger on the wand's surface. Immediately, there was a rough scratching that shot down my spine, making me arch my back in reaction. I snatched my finger back. The magicks—in me, around me, and in the wand—were reacting against each other. But still, I needed to know if I could use the wand in case of emergency. I quickly shot out a hand, wrapping it around the base of my wand. Again, I felt that scratching, but once it was over, all that was left was a tingling wand. I pointed my wand at the pillow on my bed,

"**Wingardium Leviosa**." I said, performing the required swish and flick. The pillow shot off the bed and smacked against the ceiling before falling back down to rest innocently on the bedspread. The way that spell works, I should have been able to get the pillow to move with my wand movements, but after its initial flight, the pillow stayed where it was.

I sighed and went back into my closet, grabbing a scarf off the shelf. I set it down on the floor and took a couple of steps back. I muttered a Stretching Jinx, and watched as the scarf rapidly multiplied in size. It kept going for a few seconds, before abruptly stopping. The particular jinx that I used causes an object to stretch inch by inch, taking it's time, allowing the spell caster to stop it when it reached a desired size. In my new environment, it just shot out a couple of feet on each side, and stopped.

So my magic was amplified by the surroundings. Or at least the power originally is amplified. Then, it seems like the magic will disappear, or die out or something. Or maybe the magicks in the environment overtake it, which could mean that the magic in the air adapts to maintain a state of stability, probably to keep the population from noticing anything off. I read once that areas of mystical convergence—places where magic is performed often and powerfully—sometimes have a way of taking over small spells and charms. They become pointless in the presence of the bigger magicks. Those, of course, work fine, except that they are sometimes heightened by the residual magic in the air.

I sat down on the floor, leaning against the foot of the bed. So, it seemed that Sunnydale was a bit of a mystery, what with the major magical energy and vampires. Granted, most places have vampires, but usually they're really good about covering their tracks. Leaving bite marks out like that just meant that something unusual was going on. It was probably a fledge, I realized, some new vampire who was just hungry— but as I thought about it, I realized that the fledge theory didn't really make sense. If it was a fledge, the body would have been left lying in an alley somewhere, not stuffed into a locker. No, that was carefully decided to incite panic, which would mean an older vampire, quite possibly a master vampire who wanted to play with his food. Once you get over the first rush of blood lust, you learn to control it, to overcome it. Once they reach a certain point, they stop needing to feed so often. Instead, they start playing games with victims, getting less into the 'pop up and bite' kills and more into the 'stalk your victim and traumatize them until it's a mercy' kills. This seemed to be more in the second category. I just know that somehow I'll be roped into dealing with the vampire, too. That's my type of luck. Plus everyone always says that vampires are attracted to power, and, like it or not, I'm a witch.

So, I've got a master vampire, and magic that's not really working all that great. Perfect, just what I hoped my new life would be like.

OOOOOOOOOO


End file.
